Leopold developed a diabolical scheme for advancing his colonial interests: he would present himself as a great humanitarian, whose only interests in colonizing Africa were charitable. Leopold also demonized the Afro-Arab slave trade in order to emphasize the “purity” of his own interest, and to convince other European powers to support his colonial interventions. Finally, Leopold realized that he would need a first-rate explorer, such as Henry Morton Stanley, to control Belgium’s new territory.